WWE Money in the Bank 2010 Review

Before we head into 2019's edition of the Money in the Bank PPV, take a stroll down memory lane and look back at the very first Money in the Bank PPV back in 2010. John Cena looks to capture the WWE Championship against Sheamus in a Steel Cage match with The Nexus looming in the background. Also, the first Money in the Bank Ladder matches outside of WrestleMania go down!

Match 1: SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder -  Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. The Big Show
This is the first Money in the Bank Ladder match outside WrestleMania and if we fast forward to 2019, it's interesting to see where the guys on this match currently are. From the current WWE Champion to the new face of a new company called AEW to a mayor... wild. This match had all the makings to start the show off with a bang... and that they did. Tons of sweet spots with everybody getting their hand in the cookie jar here with Kofi Kingston being the shining light as he hit a Boom Drop to Drew McIntyre off a ladder through one of the announcers tables. Amazing and underrated spot that never really got the love it deserved. Funny how these two became intricate parts of WrestleMania in 2019. The Big Show also had his cool moments during the match as he brought out the reinforced ladder into the ring before getting buried within a slew of ladders by his opponents. Finally, Kane is able to be the lone one in the ring and grab the briefcase and score an opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship. Solid opening match here that gives enough time between the two Ladder matches. Kane was an interesting pick at the time considering how much love Christian was getting from the audience.
Winner: Kane
Rating: ****

Match 2: WWE Divas Championship - Alicia Fox (c) vs. Eve Torres
Alicia Fox tries to prove that her Divas Championship victory a month ago wasn't a fluke as she puts the title on the line against the former champion in Eve Torres. Better Divas match than I had expected here, the two definitely aren't he most polished ones in the ring but they were great here in their short contest. Eve looked to score the big win with a swanton bomb from the top rope until Fox hit her straight in the back with knees. That looked pretty nasty. Fox then followed it up with an axe kick to the back of the head of Eve to secure the win. Pretty good for what it was.
Winner: Alicia Fox
Rating: *1/2

Match 3: WWE Unified Tag Team Championship - The Hart Dynasty (c) vs. The Usos
Watching this in 2019, almost hard to believe The Usos have been in the company for nearly a decade. Feels like yesterday I saw them make their debut. Working as heels, they get the chance of their careers against The Hart Dynasty. Despite them still being new to the scene, The Usos looked great in the ring and almost as if they had been wrestling in the WWE for years. They came in with an explosive and fun style of action in the ring and were great here in putting that at a forefront against The Hart Dynasty. Tamina intervened in the match and tried to distract David Hart Smith until Natalya inserted herself and dropped Tamina on the outside. This allowed Tyson Kidd to clear the ring for Smith to apply the Sharpshooter for the win. Solid tag match here that would have really benefited with a few more minutes.
Winners: The Hart Dynasty
Rating: **3/4

Match 4: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Jack Swagger
With several ambushes from Jack Swagger onto Rey Mysterio leading into this match, the left ankle of Mysterio can be the reason why Swagger might be able to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Credit to Mysterio for selling the injury masterfully before and throughout the match with Swagger targeting it throughout the match to set him up for an ankle lock. Mysterio truly is a magician, busting out tons of moves from his arsenal here including ones that we haven't seen in ages like a split-legged moonsault. Breaking out all the stops out of desperation. Mysterio would end up getting the last laugh as he would channel his inner Eddie Guerrero by loosening up his boot for an ankle lock attempt by Swagger. Of course, the boot comes right off and Mysterio is able to roll Swagger up for the win. Just over 10 minutes, these two prove that you can have a seriously great match with a fairly short amount of time and still manage to tell a great story around it. Kudos to them both.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****

Match 5: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Kane
After the match, Swagger beat down Mysterio out of frustration and locked Mysterio in the ankle lock for good measure. However, the newest Mr. Money in the Bank in Kane came out to make the save... until he decided it was time to cash in. Mysterio ate a Chokeslam and for the first time in about a decade, Kane is a World Heavyweight Champion. This was also the first time someone had cashed in their Money in the Bank contract on the night it was won. Good stuff.
Winner: Kane
Rating: n/a

Match 6: WWE Women's Championship - Layla (c) vs. Kelly Kelly
With her co-champion in Michelle McCool accompanying Layla to the ring, Layla defends the Women's Championship against he veteran in Kelly Kelly... I'm only kidding about that veteran part. Lots of screaming and lots of hair pulling here with Kelly being able to eliminate McCool from the equation but not being able to do so against her actual opponent in Layla. Layla escapes with the quick win in your typical Divas PPV match. By the way, Matt Striker is the absolute worst. I just had to mention that for clarification to anyone who is going to watch this.
Winner: Layla
Rating: 1/2*

Match 7: Raw Money in the Bank Ladder - Randy Orton vs. The Miz vs. Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase vs. John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne vs. Edge
Here we go, the second Money in the Bank Ladder match of the night with this time, the Raw superstars being the spotlight. Much like the first one, this was a fun ride with cool ladder spots and finishers galore. However, many of the spots throughout the match just came off as so forced and almost as if it was just everyone taking turns at getting in their offense. And unlike the first match, there really was no standout moment here like Kofi jumping off the ladder onto McIntyre. With Randy Orton being the only one left, he looked to have the match locked up... until The Miz appeared out of nowhere and dropped him off the ladder. Much to the chagrin of the audience, The Miz would unhook the briefcase and would become the second Mr. Money in the Bank of the night. Miz would get on the mic right after and cut what an "awesome" promo that really showed that he was ready for the next step. Also, funny to note that Maryse was tending to Ted DiBiase right next to Miz as he was cutting his promo. Who would have guessed that the two would later become married and even have their own reality show one day. I'm so glad the WWE decided to only have one Money in the Bank Ladder match in the future because two of them is just overkill. The match was definitely enjoyable and featured some sweet spots but it comes off as repetitive despite having about five matches in between. As for The Miz, this would go on to be the victory that would propel him to the top of the company as he would cash in against Orton in November later in the year.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: ***1/2

Match 8: WWE Championship - Steel Cage - Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena
The buildup to this match was pretty interesting with The Nexus looming in the back and Sheamus having to side with John Cena at one point in their efforts to get them out of the way. These two have always had pretty good chemistry in the ring and it showed here. Definitely not the type of action to blow you away but the type to keep you invested throughout with Sheamus landing some heavy blows on Cena. But the match really picked up later on when The Nexus came out with some bolt cutters. Hilariously, one of the referees takes it out of Michael Tarver's hands and runs off with it. Next, The Nexus try to take the keys for the padlock away from the referee... only for him to throw it in the crowd. They looked like absolute buffoons. Just climb the damn thing. Meanwhile, a referee bump in the ring led to Cena submitting Sheamus in the middle of the ring to no avail. Nexus members begin scaling the cage as Cena and Sheamus both had to fight them off. Sheamus escapes the cage first and runs off as he is declared the winner. Out of frustration, Cena beats down some of the remaining members of The Nexus. Fine match to close out the night but the ending was just pretty stupid. Where did Wade Barrett and the rest of The Nexus guys go? Why were they so stupid in trying to enter the cage? Regardless, Cena looked more frustrated than ever after the match and of course, would go on to pave the way for a big Summerslam main event.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Although this wasn't the best PPV ever, this was pretty good considering the crap the WWE was churning out back in 2010. The two Money in the Bank Ladder matches were fun with the second one being overkill and the two championship matches delivered on their promises.
Rating: 7.25/10